The Suzick Family 2014

For the past few years I have had the absolute pleasure of photographing the Suzick family.  In that time, I have watched their boys grow up so much.  Their eldest boy and I now share almost the same shoe size.  Their parents Chris and Alissa are the best.  They are forever making me laugh and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to capture their beautiful family  grow, as the years go on.  We had such a beautiful fall day, that almost felt like summer was trying to hang on a little longer.  Here are a few of my favourite shots from our afternoon adventure.

Enjoy!

Post Track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZYbEL06lEUvv

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Aly & Adam's Engagement Shoot

I had a fantastic time this past weekend capturing the love of Aly and Adam.

These two have been together for 8 years and are getting read to tie the knot in Mexico!  It was absolutely heart-warming to see the way these two looked at each other.  I don't think Aly stopped smiling the entire time.  We had a great time wandering around an old airforce base, weaving our way through tall grass and trees.  It was simply beautiful.  Congratulations you two on your engagement, I wish you both a life of love, laughter, health and happiness.  

La heim! 

Blog post song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2JSUXaY-tw

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Changing Colours

With the seasons changing colours to shades of orange, yellow, red and brown, it reminds me that another year is coming to a close.

I was doing some reflecting while I was going through these photos of my amazing niece and nephew.  They have grown up so fast over the years and even seeing how much they change in just one year is unreal.  It makes me wish that life had a pause button at times.  However, days keep coming and seasons keep changing.  This is why sometimes you just have to stop what you're doing and make time to play!  

This is how I spent my afternoon...

Post Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S2eTV2v3V0

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Hiking the Joffre Lakes

Wow!  I don't think that there is any other word that I could use to start off this post other than, "wow"!

For years I have always wanted to hike to see the Joffre lakes, but for some reason I have never committed myself to doing it.  That was the case until yesterday...

My friend Kim and I decided to make our way up to Pemberton the week prior.  We wanted to be able to do the hike before the winter weather fully set it.  I was nervous and was feeling a bit under the weather when I got up in the morning.  However, without hesitation, I went and met up with Kim and we started on our drive.  About two hours later we arrived at the base of Joffre.  We packed up all of our gear and headed towards the first lake.  It was beautiful!  Simply stunning.  The lush yellow reeds popping out from the crystal blue water...  Gorgeous!  Then it was on to the second lake.  The hike between the first and second lake was pretty intense.  I was worried that for the next 2-3 hours I wouldn't be able to make it if it continued at such a challenging incline.  Nonetheless, we made it! Over rocks, boulders, waterfalls, streams, mud, trees and stumps we finally came to the second lake.  It was even more beautiful than the first!  Not only was it beautiful but it also held an amazing little surprise!  We whistled and as we turned, little Whiskey Jacks flew from the trees and onto our hands.  We laid out pieces of bread for them and shortly after two birds turned had turned into twenty!  They came from all different angles and proceeded to feast from our hands and heads.  It was quite an experience.  One for the books.  Once we arrived at the second lake we started to cool down quite quickly.  After having some fun with the birds we decided to carry on towards the third and final lake.  Now, the first two lakes were incredible, though I must say that my eyes filled with tears when I saw the third and final lake.  It was one of the most stunning views that I had ever laid my eyes on.  Being so blessed to live in such a beautiful country and even more so, an incredible province, the view took my breath away.  The calm lake was the colour of a jewel that has yet to be seen.  The mountains surrounding the lake made up some type of amphitheater for the waterfalls.  Then at the very top to the right I could finally see in clear view the glacier.  It was spectacular.  I felt like I was watching a National Geographic documentary, though it was through my own eyes.  We finally sat down to enjoy our sandwiches and celebrate our victory hike with a delicious oatmeal stout.  Well deserved if I do say so myself.  As much as I would have loved to have stayed and enjoyed the scenery for longer, it was very cold.  We had to keep moving.  So, we started our descent back to the bottom.  Though it was steep in some areas and we really had to watch our footing, it was much faster going down than it was going up.

All in all we had an incredible hike and saw so much beauty.  But, boy were we happy to be back in the car with the heat blasting!  An amazing experience!  If you live in BC you must do this hike.  I know that I'll be back again.

This is the best track for this blog post:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXDZA9y1flg

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Houseboating and Forest Adventures

I was so excited to return back to the Shushwap after two long years.  It reminded me why this is and will probably always be my favourite holiday.  I always enjoy being on the water, and what's better than having a new beach to check out every day and new hiking trails?

I spent most of the time away from my camera so I would be forced to relax and enjoy my time away.  From the few times that I did decide to pick it up, here are some photos that I took...

Enjoy!

One of my favourite albums this year and my summer music track:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2zWfxW60z0

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Nicci & Bobby

My beautiful Step-Sister and her ruggedly handsome boyfriend Bobby called me up and asked me if I wanted to do a photoshoot for them.  Obviously, I was more than happy to oblige.

Nicci, Bobby and I had a great time playing around in the rain.  We captured some very cool shots with the help of Mother Nature.  The raindrops in some of these photos sparkle like little diamonds.  These two had such a great chemistry and it was easy to see how much they love one another.

I really enjoyed getting to spend some time and have some laughs with my little sis, and of course Bobby too.  I also had the pleasure of meeting their new puppy Cici, a 10 month old rescued Rottweiler.  She was an absolute sweetheart.  Except for all of the drool...

Here are the photos from our shoot.  Enjoy!

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Hiking in North Van

The weather in Vancouver has been beautiful recently.

That being said, I decided to take advantage of it and head to North Vancouver, to spend a few hours hiking through the conservation forest.

I grabbed the dogs, packed up some sandwiches and some water bottles, then headed into the lush.

I couldn't help taking my camera with me on our hike.  I knew there would be a lot to see and so much to capture.  Moss draped like streamers from the branches.  Tree roots surfaced like veins through the earth.  It was absolutely incredible.  Mother Nature really does "out do" herself sometimes. 

A song for your listening pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IKxZm7FiQU

Here are some of my favorite shots from our little adventure...

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